IAAF first to introduce EPO testing out of competition

IAAF first to
introduce EPO testing out of competition
IAAF Release
14
March 2002 – Monte Carlo - The IAAF will
be the first international sports federation to test for EPO and related substances out of
competition, all year round, and on an unannounced basis.

Starting in
May, the IAAF will introduce a new procedure, based on the
system accepted by the IOC of joint blood and urine testing.

Following a
meeting of the IAAF Anti-doping Commission on 8-9 March, Professor Arne Ljungqvist,
Chairman of the IAAF’s Anti-Doping Commission, said: “Up until now, all EPO testing in
sport has been carried out just prior to, or during, sporting events. The IAAF is again
leading the way in the fight against doping. Unannounced out of competition testing is the
key to a successful campaign and by testing for EPO as well, the IAAF is sending a
powerful message to the cheaters.”

EPO testing
will also take place at all future World Athletic Series competitions, starting at the
World Cross Country Championships in Dublin, on 23-24 March.

According to
the most recent IOC statistics [from 2000], 14,872 anti-doping tests were made in
athletics. In the same year, there were 13,568 tests in football, 12,216 in cycling and
5,750 in swimming.